1/21/2009 @ 7:40PM

Obama's Lobbying Limits

Barack Obama kicked off his presidency Wednesday by placing limits on the interaction his administration can have with lobbyists. K Street’s response? Yawn.

The executive order issued by Obama Wednesday prevents administration officials from lobbying the executive branch as long as Obama is president. They also can’t accept gifts from lobbyists. And if you leave K Street to serve in the administration, you can’t work in an area on which you lobbied for at least two years.

“As of today, lobbyists will be subject to stricter limits than under any other administration in history,” Obama said.

Maybe so, but it hardly handcuffs hardworking lobbyists. The order doesn’t affect current K Streeters, who are still free to lobby the administration. And it doesn’t curb lobbying on Capitol Hill, where much of the influence-pedaling in Washington takes place.

It also doesn’t change the relationship between the executive branch and any of the people who aren’t technically registered lobbyists but are still part of the vast advocacy network in Washington. This crowd often includes public relations executives and former policymakers who serve as advisers at lobbying and law firms.

Obama’s action was not a surprise–he’s been talking about putting such restrictions in place for months. But the speed with which he issued the order, just a day into his presidency, is designed to show that he’s serious about limiting lobbying in his administration.

“It sends a very strong message that his administration is 100% above board and is not one that is going to be influenced by the prior business dealings of its employees,” says Alfred Mottur, managing partner of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck’s Washington, D.C., office.

Obama also wants to show that his government will be open and practice fiscal responsibility. He announced Wednesday that he would freeze the pay of staffers who make more than $100,000 annually and pledged to make government records more accessible to the public through the Freedom of Information Act.

Meredith McGehee, policy director for the Campaign Legal Center, says Obama’s lobbying restrictions “make clear that public service should not be viewed as a means of enriching oneself after leaving a federal position.”

They also shine a light on revolving-door politics in Washington, a phenomenon that is widespread–though not always problematic. Lobbying is an important part of how the nation’s capital works in a city that thrives on personal relationships and knowledge of regulatory intricacies. Government officials do in fact often leave the bureaucracy to take higher-paying positions at Beltway firms, but they’re also the ones with the expertise and the connections to be able to influence legislation. And they do this on behalf of individuals, nonprofits, labor unions and other interest groups, as well as corporations.